Variable volume internal combustion engine



L. M. GRIFFITH, I 2,154,505

VARIABLE VOLUME INTERNAL COMBUSTION ENGINE April 18, 1939.

Filed June 17, 1933 Invntfor Patented Apr. 18, 1939 UNITED STATES. PATENT when VARIABLE VOLUME INTERNAL COMBUSTION ENGINE Leigh M. Griflith, Los Angeles, Calif., assignor to Phillip Lane Scott, Chicago, Ill.

Application June 17, 1933, Serial No. 676,268

11 Claims. (Cl. 123-78) This invention relates to an internal combusmanner or position, to discharge fuel into the tion engine. combustiomchamber L It has for one object to provide means for ac- In the invention as illustrated on the drawing, complishing adequate fuel mixture. Another obgaseous pressure is used for the loading medium ject is to provide means for creating turbulence. for the auxiliary piston. Gaseous pressure is 5 Another object is to provide an automatic means preferable to springs, as the problem of providfor checking or preventing detonation. Another ing sufiiciently stifi springs to withstand the object is to provide means for preventing or comhigher ranges of combustion pressures is diiflcult.

pensating for excessive cylinder pressures. It will be seen that, at some suitable point in the Other objects will appear from time to time in stroke of the secondary piston, a passage is un- 10 the specification and claims. covered between the main combustion space, L,

The invention is illustrated more or less diand the reservoir behind the piston K. This agrammatically in the accompanying drawing, permits gas at the pressure existing at the mowherein v ment to flow into the reservoir and build up some The single figure is a sectional view showing desired pressure behind the secondary piston. 15 a construction in which fluid pressure is utilized This is of course a cumulative process during the for returning the auxiliary piston. first few revolutions when the engine is started.

In the invention as shown there is a cylinder This pressure is controlled by the regulating K, which has acooling jacket K and the piston valve K as well as the location and arrange- B is provided toreciprocate within the cylinder. ment of the port K As in the previous cases 29 Formed preferably asa part of the cylinder castthe force resisting outward movement of the ing, although not necessarily so, is an auxiliary secondary piston is so chosen in relation to the cylindrical chamber K which communicates by pressures in the combustion space that one of m an pf a Passage K3 With uid pressure storseveral types of movement may occur depending to provide a closed chamber into which fluid may and the resulting type of combustion. The gas come and from which it can escape only to the pressure behind the secondary piston may be auxiliary cylinder K Asecond passage K leads such that it will yield during the compression from the cylindrical chamber K to the chamber stroke, or during the combustion period. The re- K and has positioned within it a valve member ceiver may be of such large volume that the 30 K which is normally held closed by a yieldable pressure rise in the gas trapped in'reservoir will spring K". The valve member K is hollow and not rise greatly even when the secondary piston the spring K may lie within it and bear at one has reached its outer limit of travel. In that case 'end upon the head of the valve member. At its the piston will start to move when its restoring 3.3 other end the spring K bears upon an adjusting pressure is overbalanced and will travel to its member K which is threadedly engaged in an outer limit before any great further pressure rise appropriate socket in the casting and surrounds occurs in the main chamber. It will remain in the valve .member. The compression of the this position until the pressures in the main spring may b Varied by adjusting the member chamber have dropped to a point where the re- K in and out and thus the point at which the Storing force can driven-'16 p s ck- 7 40 valve K will yield outwardly in response to pres- The use and Operation f y invention are as sure within the cylinder K to permit flow through the passage K is variable. K is a piston ggg ggi s iz zz igi g 2 are m s 0 ss: e ap- 22:33:? wlthm the cylinder K for reciprocation tation of thetinvention. The invention may be 14.5

The reference character designates a cylinder 33 2 :?.gg gi fi gl g g igfi igg 33 2 3;? head which may have a cooling acket L and bursting engine in a Diesel engine or any type has formed within it munded and preferaPly of internal combustion engine. As shown, the Q generally spherical combustion chamber L which communicates with the upper end of the main forming generally the Smwned Diesel type, cylinder K by relatively Open throat It the fuel being injected into the cylinder and commu at also with the awiiliary Gylindel' K2 burned therein, the air being supplied either with by a preferably more restricted passage or throat the fuel, or otherwise, to the cylinder so that the L L is a' fuel valve arranged in any suitable air and fuel burn within the cylinder. "55

age chamber K which is closed at its bottom on the characteristics of the engine and the iuel 25 invention is applied to an injection engine con- 50 It is recognized that improper burning may be due to many causes, but among them an important cause is poor mixing and poor scavenging. These are to some degree avoided by adequate mixing and by setting up turbulence within the cylinder.

The auxiliary piston K may be loaded, to

yield at pressures either below the maximum loading mechanism and consequently the outward movement of the piston does not occur until the desired time and it can, of course, be adjusted for a wide variety of conditions and it has the ability to store the energy of sudden pressure changes by reason of the compression of the loading mechanism so that a more effective use can be made upon the return stroke of the auxiliary piston and the original energy of the detonating pressure waves.

The term turbulence as usedthroughout the specification is not used in the strictly aerody-- namic sense but in the sense which has become accepted in the engine art as referring to rapid air motion in a combustion chamber of an engine for the purpose of better mixing the fuel and air. This rapid air motion is of an orderly nature rather than truly turbulent" in a strictly aerodynamic sense.

I claim:

1. In combination in an internal combustion engine, a working cylinder, a piston therein, means defining a separate combustion chamber having communication with the working cylinder, and an auxiliary cylinder in communication with said combustion chamber, and means movable solely in response to pressure variations in the auxiliary cylinder and combustion chamber for forcing gas from said auxiliary cylinder, into said combustion chamber, and means providing a throat between said working cylinder and said combustion chamber.

.2. In combination in an internal combustion engine, a working cylinder, a piston therein, means defining a separate combustion chamber having communication with the working cylinder, and an auxiliary cylinder in communication with said combustion chamber, and means movable solely in response to pressure variations in the auxiliary cylinder and combustion chamber for forcing gas from said auxiliary cylinder into said combustion chamber, and means providing a throat between said auxiliary chamber and said combustion chamber and means providing a throat between said working cylinder and said combustion chamber.

3. In combination in an internal combustion engine, a working cylinder, a main piston therein, means defining a separate combustion chamber having communication with the working cylinder and an auxiliary cylinder in communication with said combustion chamber, and an auxiliary piston freely movable in said auxiliary chamber adapted to force gas from said auxiliary cylinder to said combustion chamber solely in response to variations in gas pressure, and means providing a throat between said auxiliary chamber and said combustion chamber and means providing a throat between said working cylinder and said combustion chamber, said main piston 00-01 erating with the throat between the working cylinder and the combustion chamber to 'force air in predetermined, orderly paths into the combustion chamber.

4. In combination in an internal combustion engine, a working cylinder, a main piston therein, a separate combustion chamber having communication with the working cylinder and an auxiliary cylinder in communication with said combustion chamber, and an auxiliary piston freely movable in said auxiliary chamber adapted to force gas from said auxiliary cylinder to said combustion chamber solely in response to variations in gas pressure, and means providing a throat between said auxiliary chamber and said combustion chamber and means providing a throat between said working cylinder and said combustion chamber, said auxiliary piston cooperating with the throat between the auxiliary cylinder and the combustion chamber to force air in predetermined, orderly paths into the combustion chamber.

5. In combination in an internal combustion engine, a working cylinder, a main piston therein, means defining a separate combustion chamber having communication with the working cylinder and an auxiliary cylinder in communication with said combustion chamber, and an auxiliary piston freely movable in said auxiliary chamber adapted to force gas from said auxiliary cylinder to said combustion chamber solely in response to variations in gas pressure, and means providing a throat between said auxiliary chamber and said combustion chamber and means providing a throat between said working cylinder and said combustion chamber, said main piston co-opcrating with the throat between the working cylinder and the combustion chamber and said auxiliary piston co-operating with the throat between the auxiliary cylinder and the combustion chamber to force air in predetermined, orderly paths into the combustion chamber.

6. In an internal combustion engine, a main cylinder, an auxiliary cylinder, means defining a combustion chamber having substantially arcuate wall surfaces, and means providing communicating passages between the combustion chamber and the main cylinder and between the combustion chamber and the auxiliary cylinder, said passages at the point of connection with said combustion chamber being disposed respectively substantially tangent to the arcuate wall surface thereof and arranged to establish a substantially uniform path of movement for gases through said combustion chamber from said passages, .and means within the said cylinders for delivering gases through said passages to the combustion chamber, said first mentioned means including a pressure responsive free piston in the auxiliary cylinder, and means for restraining said piston to move only in response to pressure variations during the high pressure period of the cycle.

'7. In an internal combustion engine, means defining three vessels arranged in series, said vessels being separated by ported partitions, said vessels comprising a working cylinder, a combustion chamber, and an auxiliary cylinder, 8. pressure responsive member mounted for movement within the auxiliary cylinder to effect transfer of gases between the combustion chamber and said auxiliary cylinder, the ports in said partitions defining gase nozzles for directing and controlling the fiow of gas between said vessels, and means for yieldingly restraining said pressure responsive means against movement except during the high pressure period of the cycle.

8. In an internal combustion engine, a main cylinder, a piston within said cylinder, an auxiliary cylinder, means defining a combustion chamber having communication with both cylinders by gas nozzles disposed with respect to the wall surfaces of said combustion chamber to establish a substantially orderly movement of gas in a given direction through, said combustion chamber when gases aredischarged from either of said nozzles, a pressure responsive member movable within the auxiliary cylinder, and means defining a pressure chamber having communication with said auxiliary cylinder behind said pressure responsive member by means of a gas nozzle, and means for moving said piston and said pressure responsive means to evacuate the gaseous charges in the main cylinder and auxiliary cylinder respectively through said first the fiow of gas between said vessels, and a fourth mentioned nozzles into the combustion chamber.

9. In an internal combustion engine, means defining three vessels arranged in series, said vessels being separated by ported partitions, said vessels comprising a working cylinder, a combustion chamber, and an auxiliary cylinder, a pressure responsive member mounted for movement within the auxiliary cylinder to effect transfer of gases between the combustion chamber and said auxiliary cylinder, the ports in said partitions defining gas nozzles for directing and controlling vessel separated from said auxiliary cylinder by a ported partition and defining a pressure receivr behind said pressure responsive meniben' I whereby to yieldingly restrain said pressure responsive means against movement except during the high pressure "period of the cycle.

10. In an internal combustion engine, a working cylinder, a working piston, means defining a combustion chamber disposed outside the confines of said working cylinder, said combustion chamber and said working cylinder being connected by a gas nozzle, an auxiliary cylinder disposed outside the confines of said main cylinder, and having communication only with said combustion chamber by means of a partition provided with a gas nozzle establishing communication between the combustion chamber and auxiliary chamber, and a pressure responsive member mounted in the auxiliary chamber and movable in response to variation in gas pressure only to effect transfer of gases between the combustion chamber and said auxiliary cylinder, said gas nozzles controlling and directing the passage of gas between said ,working chamber, combustion chamber and auxiliary cylinder in regular and orderly paths, and means for yieldingly restraining said pressure responsive member againstmovement except during high pressure period. of the cycle.

11. The internal combustion engine described in claim 3 wherein the main piston cooperates with the throat between the working cylinder and said combustion chamber at the upper end of its stroke to change the effective area of said throat.

, LEIGH M. GRIFFITH. 

